Our view: While the council seems focused on ethnicity and gender for commissioners, there are other types of diversity as well.

The final election results for the Chico City Council and other close local races should be announced next week. After that will be the second most important election — the council”s selection of individuals to serve on city boards and commissions.

Too often in the past, these selections have served as political payback for help and support provided during the election. Political organizers get chosen. So do campaign contributors. Expertise was a secondary consideration — and a distant second at that.

This year, like every other year, we plead to the council to selection commissioners based on qualifications, not political ideology.

That starts with a good pool of applicants.

The deadline for citizens to apply for boards and commissions is 5 p.m. Monday. The city has said it wants to do a better job of outreach to attract a more diverse pool of applicants as part of its still-uncooked Diversity Action Plan. Here”s our attempt at outreach: an appeal to our readers.

Newspaper readers are generally more informed about their community and active in the community than nonreaders. People who read the opinion page are more likely to want to get engaged and help solve problems.

These positions don”t pay much. OK, they don”t pay anything. But they are important and, if the job is done right, a rewarding type of community service that many citizens often overlook.

The city recruits candidates every two years. This year there are a large number of openings — five on the Bidwell Park and Playground Commission, five on the Planning Commission, five on the Arts Commission, three on the Airport Commission and two on the Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Board.

A recruitment packet is available online at the city”s website, www.ci.chico.ca.us, or at the municipal building. Applicants must live within the city limits and be registered to vote.

The city has stipulated that “women, minorities and persons with disabilities are encouraged to apply.” We”d like to add two more types of diversity that always seem to be lacking — diversity of thought and age. There are very few young people on commissions (as in younger than 40) and very few who politically would be characterized as right of center.

The new council will select the new commissioners in December. You can”t have good commissions without good candidates. We urge qualified people to get in their applications.